Cowboy Take Me Away
by EveNox
Summary: Bella Swan is broken. Her parents have just died, and she is forced to move to Forks to live with her older brother Emmett. Hearts and bones get broken, but love and friendship are found. AH, OOC. A more mature version of Lie of Happiness.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They belong to Stephenie Meyer.

 **CHAPTER ONE: FIRST DAY**

"Bella!" Emmett's booming voice called. "Time to get up!"

My eyes fluttered opened, and a groan escaped my lips.

Emmett opened my bedroom door and took a step in. His silhouette took up the whole door frame. "Get up, Sleepyhead!"

"Do I have to, Em?" I said as I threw the covers over my head. I had really been dreading this day.

"Yes. You have no choice, I'm afraid." I could hear his footsteps as he started to exit my room. "I have breakfast made downstairs, so hurry up!"

"What did you make this time?" I asked, skeptical. When I arrived last week, the first thing he made was one of his protein smoothie concoctions. He insisted it was good for me and that I would get past the taste. I did not get past the taste or the raw eggs.

"Don't worry, Bells. Its only Eggo's and orange juice." He laughed, and I joined in. "Hustle! We have to leave in 20 minutes," Emmett said as he shut the door of my room.

I took an extra moment to prepare myself for the day. I wasn't so good at this kind of thing: new school, new people, social interaction. I wasn't outgoing like my brother. He liked to be around people and go to parties. I liked to stay at home with a good book.

I showered quick and blow-dried my hair. I didn't do much for makeup. Chapstick was the closest thing I got to it. As I brushed out my hair, I avoided my reflection in the mirror. These past couple months were hard on me. I barely ate, and I lost a lot of sleep. I knew I had to take better care of myself and moving to Forks was the first step.

"Looking good, Bells!" Emmett smiled. I knew he was exaggerating. I didn't own makeup to cover the dark circles under my eyes, and my naturally slim frame was smaller than usual.

"Thanks," I mumbled as I sat at the table. "And thanks for breakfast."

"Anything for you Bells," He replied. His voice was soft. "I'm glad you came to stay with me."

I sometimes wondered if Emmett struggled the way I did. He was always so strong and upbeat. If he was sad or depressed, he never showed any sign of it around me.

"Of course. I'm glad too. It's been really great to get to know each other again." I choked back a sob. "It just sucks that it had to be this way."

I couldn't stop the tears. Two months before my move to Forks, our parents had died in a car crash.

Our mom and dad divorced when Emmett and I were young. Renee moved us to sunny Arizona and left Charlie back in gloomy Forks. I have no memories of living with them under the same roof. As kids, Emmett and I would spend every summer in Forks, while mom road tripped across the country with one of her boyfriends. Emmett insisted he moved back with Charlie his freshman year to play football at Forks High School. I think he moved because he didn't want Charlie to be lonely.

This past summer was different from every other summer though. I had scored my first job working at a local bookstore, and I was afraid to take too much time off. I convinced Charlie to come to Phoenix to visit me for a week, and in return I would visit him for a week.

I tried to convince Emmett to come with Charlie, but he was invited to a college football camp. It was an opportunity he just couldn't turn down.

I had Charlie's whole trip to Phoenix planned, but then things changed drastically.

Renee had picked him up at the airport. They were on their way to pick me up from my shift at the bookstore when it happened. A drunk driver swerved into oncoming traffic and hit them head on. The driver survived, but his wife who was in the passenger seat died in the hospital two days later. Our parents died at the scene. My mom, who never wore her seatbelt was flung through the window and died instantly, and Charlie was crushed to death. The airbags never went off.

Emmett's arms engulfed me in a hug. "Don't worry, Bella. Everything will be fine if we stick together. You got that?"

I nodded. He had no idea how grateful I was that I still had him. It killed me every time I thought about how it could have been him in the car too.

"Okay. Now no crying on the first day of school," he smiled.

"Okay. I'm going to go brush my teeth. We should get going soon. We're going to be late," I said as I wiped away my tears.

Emmett nodded. "I'll be waiting in the jeep."

Five minutes later, we were on our way to school. The skies were clear, unusual for Forks. The warmth of the sunlight helped calm my nerves.

Emmett turned down his music as we approached Forks High School. "So, how about you sit with my friends and I at lunch," Emmett suggested, as he pulled in to the school parking lot.

"Sure..." I said. I was definitely not sure. "But what if they don't like me?"

"Don't worry, Bells. They'll love you. I promise. They're excited to finally meet you," he smiled. "And Alice is excited to have another shopping partner."

"You do know I hate shopping, right?"

"Oh, I know. I've told her so, but she doesn't care," he laughed.

"Oh." I did not know who this Alice girl was, but it would be the day that I would be caught shopping for fun. I didn't even like shopping out of necessity, the exception was groceries. "Well, I'll see you at lunch. I have to get to class."

"Me too. Don't trip!" He called, as I ran off to my first class. Luckily, when I signed up for classes the week before I was given a map. There wasn't much need for one since it was such a small school, but it gave me some sort of comfort.

The first classes of the day were terrible. The teachers gave out their syllabuses, and then gave us the rest of class to talk. I would have preferred a pop quiz. A shy girl named Angela was nice enough to try to include me in conversations with her friends, but I failed miserably to keep up.

"So, you just moved here a few days ago? From Phoenix, right? I haven't seen you around," said Jessica, one of Angela's friends. She was bubbly, and her bouncy brown hair matched her personality. She was the exact opposite of Angela.

"Yeah, I moved in with my brother Emmett," I said quietly.

"Is that who you're going to be sitting with at lunch?" she pressed. Angela had kindly invited me to sit with them, but I had declined.

"Yeah. He wants me to meet his friends," I dug through my bag pretending to look for something when I noticed her eyes widened. "What? Is there something wrong with them?"

She quickly shook her head. "No! But they're like the hottest guys in school."

A blonde-haired boy named Mike Newton joined in. "Jessica has had a crush on your brother forever," he laughed.

Jessica blushed and shoved him. "Mike, shut up!"

The bell rang for lunch, and I headed out of the classroom. Angela caught up to me.

"Sorry about Jessica," Angela whispered. "She's very..."

"It's fine," I chuckled. I was used to girls having crushes on my brother. He had dark brown, curly hair that he kept short, and he inherited our mother's blue eyes. He was taller than average and built like a pro wrestler. To balance out his intimidating frame, he had a boyish face with childlike dimples. Between his looks and his and his sense of humor, he made all the girls swoon.

Angela led me the way to the cafeteria. I had never been so nervous to meet a group of people before. Angela sensed my hesitation and offered to grab food with me before we sat down.

"Good luck!" she said, placing a hand on my shoulder before we parted ways.

"Thanks. I'll see you later," I smiled. I liked her, she was chill. I half wished I would have just agreed to sit with her for lunch.

I looked around the cafeteria nervously before I heard a booming voice call my name _._ Yes, just what I needed the whole population of the school looking at me. I felt my face heat up. I turned toward his table and saw him waving his hands in the air like a total idiot. A huge grin was placed upon his face showing his dimples. I could have killed him

I walked over with my head down. I could feel the burning stares of people looking at me.

I took a deep breath as I approached the table. "Hey," I said, trying my best to give a small smile.

"Don't just stand there, have a seat!" said a small girl. She had dark spiky hair, and I couldn't help but notice how well dressed she was. I looked around the table. All of them were well dressed. Insecurity flooded through me. I was wearing jeans and an old t-shirt. I had only brought a suitcase of clothing with me to Forks, as most of my wardrobe was for a totally different climate.

"I'm Alice Cullen," said the little pixie-like girl with short hair.

At the beginning of the day I was determined to not like Alice, but there was something about her you couldn't resist. I already liked her, and I knew it would be next to impossible to say no to a shopping trip with her.

"Nice to meet you, Alice," I said as I took the open seat in between my brother and a blonde-haired boy.

"Hey, Bells! How was your day so far?" Emmett said, as he messed up my hair.

"Em!" I replied embarrassed, fixing my hair. "It was fine, I guess."

"Don't be rude, Emmett. Introduce the rest of us!" Alice said, reaching over the table to swat my brother.

"Okay, okay! Let's start with Edward" He laughed as he pointed to a bronze haired boy. "Bella, Edward Cullen. Edward, this is Bella."

"Cullen?" I asked, looking between Alice and Edward.

"Edward and Alice are brother and sister. A year apart," Emmett confirmed.

"Bella." Edward nodded giving a perfect crooked smile. His eyes were emerald green. Where Alice had soft feminine features, Edward's were chiseled and masculine.

"As you can see we look nothing alike, and I'm totally the better looking one!" Alice grinned.

"Right! And Alice already introduced herself. So, um, this is Jasper Whitlock." He pointed to the blonde-haired boy to my left.

I turned to look at him, and he greeted me with a smile. I immediately returned it. He had wild, curly, honey blonde hair. He was wearing a blue plaid button-down that brought out his bright blue eyes that I just couldn't look away from.

"Ah-hem!" Emmett interrupted obnoxiously.

I blushed and quickly looked away from Jasper's eyes.

"My sister, remember?" Emmett said sternly. Emmett turned body toward the girl to his left before I could scold him. "Anyway, I saved the best for the last. My lovely Rosalie Hale, who also happens to be Jasper's twin."

I was immediately self-conscious. I heard Emmett talk about how beautiful she was, but I never imagined that she would be anything like this. Rosalie was beautiful. A model. She was tall and statuesque with flowing blonde hair. She had a smile that made her eyes twinkle. I couldn't understand why she was with my brother.

"Hello, Bella!" she said. Her voice was even beautiful.

"Nice to finally meet you Rosalie. Emmett has been talking about you non-stop," I smiled.

"I hope it's all been good things," she said, as she eyed my brother then smiled. "You can call me Rose."

"All good things, Rose. I promise," I laughed. I wanted to hate her out of jealousy, but I couldn't help but love her. They way she looked at my brother, I could tell she loved and adored him. Emmett deserved that.

"We've all heard a lot about you," Rose said sweetly.

"So, what are your next classes?" asked Alice, who was practically bouncing in her chair. How did such a small girl have so much energy?

"Biology and gym," I frowned at the word 'gym'. It should be illegal for me to participate in any sport at all. To say I'm clumsy would be an understatement.

"Oh, you and Edward both have the next class together!" She said excitedly. I could tell I was going to like her. "Rose, Jasper, and I both have gym with you too."

"It would be nice knowing at least a couple people in a few of my classes," I said. "What year are you guys in?"

"Rose and Jasper are seniors and Edward and I are juniors."

Em laughed. "Yeah, because Pixie failed last year!"

"Hey, shopping's important too!" Alice pouted.

"Not when you fail _all_ of your classes," He laughed.

"Who cares? At least I get more time to spend with my baby brother," She said, hugging Edward as he tried to shrug her off.

They all soon moved on to talking about a party that was coming up. Not being interested in parties, I zoned out. I looked around the cafeteria again and saw that people were still staring. Didn't people have better things to do than stare at me like I had two heads? Jasper must have noticed because he lightly elbowed me and gave me an understanding smile. I blushed and looked down to my lap.

"Don't like the attention much do, you?" asked Jasper. His voice was deep and smooth like honey. A could spot slight southern accent.

"No, not really," I replied in a voice just above a whisper and gave a nervous laugh.

"Me neither," he smiled.

"So, are you from around here?" I questioned before I could stop myself. God. I sounded like Jessica.

"You noticed the accent, did you?" He questioned back with a grin. I nodded. "Rose and I moved here with our parents about three years ago. We're originally from Houston, Texas. Big change with the rain and all," he said.

The bell rang for our next classes. I said my goodbyes to everyone and followed Edward to the biology lab. Thankfully, we were already assigned as desk partners.

"How are you liking Forks?" Edward asked, after our teacher gave us permission to chat for the last twenty minutes of class.

"Its fine. Nothing compared to Phoenix though," I smiled.

He laughed, "Yeah, I bet. Not liking the weather much, are you?"

"Not very much," I admitted. "But I'm trying." It was true, I was trying to like it here. I didn't mind the rain, the over cast skies, or the beautiful greenery. I just didn't enjoy the wet, cold air. I wasn't used to it. Phoenix was sun, sky, and the desert heat.

"You'll get used to it," he said.

"So, you have lived here all your life?" I asked.

"Yes, I have. My dad works at the hospital here in town and my mother does interior design around the area."

"Wow," I said speechless. "That's... impressive. Is your dad a doctor or something?"

"He's a surgeon actually, but since it's such a small town he does almost everything you can think of a doctor doing."

The rest of class went by quickly talking to Edward. He told me about his family, and his summer camping adventures. His family seemed amazing, and a wave of sadness swept through my body. The bell rang, and Edward walked me to my last class of the day.

"I know you don't like gym, I don't either. I'd much rather be out shopping, but we'll get through this together," Alice said as she grabbed my hand after we changed into our P.E. clothing.

"It's nice to not be the only one not excited about group sports." I admitted.

"Hey Bella!" Mike interrupted, running toward us. "We're going to be playing basketball today. It's a tradition."

" Oh, great." I mumbled.

"Okay, people. Welcome back. My name is Coach Clapp in case any of you forgot over your summer breaks. Today we are going to be playing basketball," Coach Clapp announced. "Newton, Whitlock, you guys are captains."

I frowned, and Alice took noticed. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Alice, I can't play. I suck. I'll either get a concussion or I'll give someone a concussion." She tilted her head in confusion. "I'm clumsy and have no hand eye coordination."

"Oh! Don't worry, Bella. I'll make sure you're on Jasper's team. He'll make sure no one passes to you," Alice winked.

I gave her a small smile. "Thanks."

"No problem," she said, and then skipped off and whispered something into Jasper's ear. He smiled and nodded.

"Whitlock, you get first pick," said Coach Clapp after flipping a coin. I breathed I sigh of relief.

"Okay. I pick Bella," Jasper announced. I walked over to where he stood. He leaned down and whispered in my ear, his breath making the hair on my neck stand. "Don't worry I won't let anyone pass you the ball."

"Um, thank you. Really."

"Don't worry about it," he smiled. "But I do think someone is a little disappointed to not have you on their team." He glanced over to Mike who was glaring back at him.

"Shh," I hissed.

Shortly after we had a full team, they started playing. Because I had to look like I was participating, I ran back and forth with the team while they made sure not to pass to me.

When class was over I walked out to Emmett's Jeep with Jasper, Alice, and Rose. Edward was leaning the Jeep talking to Emmett. When Emmett noticed us approaching he spun around and took three giant steps towards us and swept me up in a huge bear hug.

"Emmett. Can't. Breath." I managed to get out.

"Oops! Sorry, Bells," he laughed, and he set me back on to my feet. He had been super affectionate lately, and I couldn't help but wonder if he was trying to compensate for our parents being gone.

"It's fine," I replied with a small laugh.

"Well, I think I'll just take Bells home and chill with her for a bit. See you guys later!" He gave Rose a kiss and I followed him into the vehicle.

We were backing out of the parking space when I said, "You know, you really don't have to hang out with me, Emmett. Just because I'm living with you now doesn't mean you have to ditch your friends."

"I know I don't have to hang out with you, Bella, but I want to."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters. They belong to Stephenie Meyer.

 **CHAPTER TWO: THE PAST**

It was Friday. The week had gone by relatively fast. I tried my best to keep my head down, but people still noticed me. I was over the attention even before the first day, and now I was completely and totally sick of it. I knew I would keep having to suffer since Emmett still drove me to school, and I stuck close to him and his friends.

I was headed for my first class of the day when I felt myself being pushed against the locker doors. I looked up too see Lauren Mallory smiling slyly. I gave her a questioning look. I had only talked to her once, when Jessica introduced us at lunch on the second day of school. She had barely muttered a word to me. Now she was standing over me in the hallway.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

"Help me?" Lauren laughed. Her bleach blond hair looked Crayola yellow in the fluorescents. "You can help me by disappearing."

"What are you talking about?" I questioned.

Lauren smacked my books out of my grasp. "You are nothing. The only reason you've become popular is because of your brother and your dead parents. I am sick of hearing people talk about you. _Poor Bella. Pretty Bella._ You dress like trash and you look like trash. This five minutes of fame will come to an end when people start to get bored of you."

"What are you talking about?" Anger flooded through me body. I couldn't believe what I had just heard. My parents. Popularity. My appearance. Why did this all matter to her? She sounded like a middle school bully in some bad 90's movie.

"Your five minutes of fame is coming to an end, Bella. Emmett showing you off like a brand-new toy will get old, and the sympathy from the death of your parents will only last so long."

As much as I wanted to ignore what she had said, hot tears pricked my eyes. _Say something, Bella,_ I told myself, but nothing would come out. When it came to it, I could stand up for any person in my life. But when it came to standing up for myself, I couldn't think of anything.

She shoved me into the lockers once more with a menacing grin etched on her face. "Aw, is poor Bella going to cry?"

"What the hell is this?" someone yelled.

Lauren backed off, glaring at me with snake-like eyes.

I looked away from her and saw that a crowd had formed. My face flushed, and my eyes burned as I held back more tears.

"I said, what the hell is going on?" The voice yelled again. No one spoke up.

I turned my head to the side and saw Jasper pushing his way through the group of people that had formed. As he got to the middle of the circle he looked around in disgust. He knelt beside me and picked up my books. When he stood up, Jasper gently grabbed my arm and whispered to me. "You want to go?"

I could only nod as the tears I tried so hard to hold back started to fall. He took my hand and led me through the hall and out to the parking lot. He led me toward a black truck that I had seen him driving around in this past week. He opened the passenger door for me, waited until I was in, and walked around to the driver's side. He started driving. I didn't know what direction we were heading in, and I didn't care.

I felt stupid and embarrassed that I had let a girl like Lauren walk over me. The last thing I wanted people to think was that I was a pushover. Since the death of my parents, I felt like I had lost all of my strength. Besides losing them, I had lost myself. I barely ate. I barely slept. I had lost interest in everything I used to love. Sometimes I wanted to scream and shout at Emmett. The week of our parents' funerals he was sad and heartbroken. The next week, he was back to his old self. It seemed that now he was flourishing more than ever. I resented that.

Minutes later, Jasper stopped the car and got out. I was grateful to be pulled out of my thoughts. He walked over and opened the door for me.

"Thank you," I said, barely a whisper. No man had ever opened a car door for me. It was a chivalrous act that I wasn't used to.

"Anytime," Jasper smiled. I watched as he took in our surroundings, breathing in the fresh air.

He had driven us to First Beach on the Quileute Reservation. I followed Jasper down towards the water. The sky above the ocean was dark gray. A storm was approaching. Jasper led me to a piece of driftwood and motioned for me to sit next to him.

"You want to talk about it?" he asked. Jasper was leaning forward with his arms resting against his lap. He was staring at two birds fighting over a piece of seaweed by the shore. He turned his head to look at me, waiting for an answer.

"I don't think there's much to talk about," I replied. I mimicked him and winced in pain as my shoulder rejected the position.

"Bella, I can see what Lauren said and did is hurting you." He looked at me with concern. Worry lines ran deep on his forehead "What happened?"

Everything that Lauren said seemed to spill out of me. It wasn't what she had said to me that hurt, but what I didn't say back. I felt foolish and humiliated that I couldn't stand up for myself or for my family. I had so many things that I wanted to say to Lauren now that hadn't even come to mind in the moment. I laid everything that I wanted to say to her on him, and he let me.

Jasper was a perfect listener, nodding and replying at all the right moments. He never once interrupted me as I let my emotions flow.

I then realized that I didn't even know who Jasper was. We had lunch together on the first day and we shared the same P.E. class, but I didn't know him more than an acquaintance.

"Jasper, why do you care?" I blurted out. It came out harsher than I meant it, but I hoped he understood what I meant.

"Fair question," he chuckled. He looked out at the ocean as he started talking. "I didn't like seeing you be treated like that. It pains me to see someone hurt. I don't know who the hell Lauren Mallory thinks she is, but she needs to be put in her place." He took a deep breath. "You're also my best friend's sister. Emmett is family to me. I know he would do the same for Rosalie, whether they were dating or not."

"Thank you for getting me out of there. I think if I was there any longer I wouldn't be able to show my face at school again. It was humiliating."

"You don't need to thank me, darling." He gave me a sincere smile. "How's your shoulder feeling?"

"I think it will be fine. My ego is bruised more than anything."

"It will all be forgotten by Monday. They'll have something else to gossip about."

The sun began to peak out from under the clouds, and we both took a moment to soak in its rays. I could tell that we were both creatures that craved the sun's warmth. I closed my eyes and leaned back onto my elbows, soaking up the vitamin D. When the sun decided to disappear, Jasper stood up.

"Are we going?" I asked. I didn't want to go back to town just yet.

"No, I was thinking I would show you something. Come on." He gave me his hand to help me up, and chills coursed through my body. His hand was strong and warm. If Jasper noticed my lingering gaze, he didn't let on.

He led me through a trail in the dense trees. I said a silent prayer that I wouldn't trip and make a fool out of myself for the second time that day. I made sure to keep my eyes to the ground, looking out for any fallen trees or roots that I could trip on.

Around ten minutes later, Jasper came to a complete stop. I didn't look up in time to notice; therefore, I ran right into his back. Jasper turned quick enough to steady me by my arms. He let out a laugh at my bewildered face, and I couldn't help but laugh with him.

After a moment he stepped aside and motioned in front of us. "This is Dr. and Mrs. Cullen's cabin."

We stood beside a huge cabin nestled in the trees, and only about 50 feet away from the beach. It was beautiful.

A pergola, with a large fire pit, sat between the cabin and the beach. Swinging benches surrounded the area, attached to the tall beams. Scattered around the inside of the pergola were half a dozen Adirondack chairs.

Jasper led me to the front of the cabin and grabbed his keys from the pocket of his jeans to unlock the door.

"Are we allowed to be here?" I asked. Looking around at the immaculately landscaped front yard.

Jasper let out a chuckle. "Of course, Bella. I wouldn't have brought you if we weren't allowed here. I have my own set of keys, and so does Emmett and Rose." He opened the door and gestured for me to go inside.

The interior of the cabin was amazing. Whites, beiges, and greys covered the entire place. It was rustic and fresh. A long white L-shaped couch was in the center of the living room, just passed the entry way. A fire place with a large television hung just above a mantel. Although the room was bright, everything in it screamed comfy and cozy.

"This is beautiful!" I exclaimed, as he led me toward the kitchen.

Jasper grinned. "This is my favorite place, besides the ranch. Would you like somethin' to drink? We're stocked with soda, hot-chocolate, whatever you want."

"The ranch?" I asked, ignoring his question.

"Soda it is," he said, ignoring mine. He opened the fridge. "Do you want Coke, Dr. Pepper, Mountain Dew, or Root Beer?"

"A coke is fine," I said. I studied him, wondering why he was avoiding my question.

He took out two cans of Coke and poured them into a couple glasses and slid one over the island toward me.

"So, what are your plans this weekend?" he asked before taking a sip of his soda.

"I don't really know. I was thinking of cleaning up the house a bit and reading a good book. What about you? Going to the ranch?"

Jasper narrowed his eyes at me. "No, I'm not going to the ranch. That's where I lived while growing up in Texas. I miss it, and I don't really enjoy talking about it."

"Gotcha." I wanted to know more, but I didn't press. I could tell that even though he loved the ranch, the topic brought up feelings of anger. I moved on to another topic. "Tell me about Rose. Tell me about your family." I wanted to know more about the girl dating my brother.

"What do you want to know?" Jasper smiled, his posture becoming more relaxed. "Rose is a bit of a spitfire. Nothing comes in between her and the things she loves. I think we have that in common, but she's more vocal about it. She loves vehicles, she and knows more about them than anyone I know. She wants to become a mechanic after we graduate."

I had felt my eyes growing huge as he was talking. I shook me head. "I would have never imagined Rose wanting to be a mechanic."

"No one ever does. I think she likes the surprise in everyone's eyes when she tells them. She waits for them to say something sexist, so she can jump down their throats." Jasper laughed.

"And what about the rest of your family?" Jasper's body tensed again at my question. "I'm sorry, you don't have to answer that," I hurried.

"No, it's okay," he gave a forced smile. "My dad is John. He works in the energy sector as a CEO in Seattle. That's the reason we moved. My mom Anna was used to the ranch and wanted to live somewhere small. Her friend was living here in Forks, and she persuaded my parents to buy a house here. My dad is almost always travelling or staying in the city, he owns a condo in Seattle. My mom stays at home." Everything that he said about his family sounded rehearsed and robotic, with the exception of Rosalie.

I was about to say something when I was interrupted by a huge BOOM and a crackle.

I let out a small cry, frightened by the loud noise. I my scared eyes with Jasper's amused ones.

He chuckled. "It's just thunder, Bella."

I could feel my face heat up. I had a way of embarrassing myself no matter the situation.

I followed Jasper into the living room and looked out the sliding glass door to see a dark sky in the horizon.

"We should get back," Jasper said as he ran his hand through his blonde curls.

"Yeah. I don't think my clumsiness and a rainy hiking trail would be very good combination," I said grimly.

Jasper laughed. "C'mon let's go."

The walk back to Jasper's truck was quick. The temperature had dropped, and the smell of the approaching storm was in the air.

By the time we got back to town it was only noon.

"Do you want to go back to school, or do you want me to take you home?" asked Jasper.

"I want to go back to school. I don't want her to think she holds anything over me."

Jasper smiled. "Sounds good. You know you can come to any one of us for anything. We have your back, Bella."

"Thank you, Jasper. That means a lot." I smiled shyly at him. "And thank you for stepping in between me and Lauren. I don't know what I would have done without you this morning. I kind of froze."

"No problem. You won't have to worry about Lauren. I'm sure Rose and Alice took care of her." Jasper looked over and chuckled at my confused expression. "They talked to her, Bella. I texted the group on the drive over and briefly told them what happened… So you shouldn't have to deal with Lauren's shit anymore."

I sighed a breath of relief, but deep down I didn't feel like I deserved the support I was receiving from a group of people I barely knew.

I followed Jasper into the cafeteria with my head down. I didn't look up until we were at our usual table. As soon as I sat down, everyone bombarded me with questions. I shut down. I couldn't take it anymore, maybe I should have went home.

Edward spoke up. "Hey we all know what happened. If Bella wants to talk about it, let her. If not, then let's leave her alone."

I gave Edward a small smile, and then addressed the rest of the table. "Jasper already told you all everything. I'm honestly over it already and would like to move on."

Emmett nodded but his face was strained. "Sounds good, little sis."

"I'm serious, guys. Let's just move past this." I gave them all my best smile. I didn't need these people, strangers, to be worrying about me. I hoped the excitement about me would soon die down so I could settle in to my new home.


End file.
